HOCKEY

HOCKEY; Lindros Traded to Somewhere on I-95

By JOE LAPOINTE,

Published: June 21, 1992

MONTREAL, June 20—
The Eric Lindros auction took a bizarre twist this afternoon with the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers both concluding they had struck a deal to land the young star.

As a result of the dispute, National Hockey League officials decided to submit the matter to an independent arbitrator. And it is the arbitrator who will apparently decide whether the 19-year-old center, who is now the property of the Quebec Nordiques, ends up playing in New York or Philadelphia.

Bill Wilkerson, a league spokesman who was in Montreal for an N.H.L. Board of Governors meeting, said late tonight that representatives of the two teams were meeting at a hotel here to settle on the arbitrator. "The announcement will probably be Sunday morning," Wilkerson said. "The whole process should take a day or two."

Brian O'Neill, executive vice president of the N.H.L., said: "I certainly wouldn't leave while these Board of Governors meetings are going on. I might even sell tickets."

Shortly before midnight, the Nordiques' owner, Marcel Aubut, and Pierre Page, the team's general manager, left the hotel. Aubut declined to discuss details but said that the Nordiques had approved an arbitrator and that he expected the Rangers and Flyers to approve as well.

A high-ranking Nordiques official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Nordiques had sided with the Rangers in the dispute, although there is no guarantee that the New York team will prevail.

"At least we know Lindros is going to the Patrick Division," said one high-ranking league executive.

It is believed that the Nordiques reached potential terms on a trade with the Flyers first this morning, but then continued talking with the Rangers. The Flyers apparently believe they had a final deal, but the Nordiques apparently thought differently.

Lindros, who played last February in the Olympic Winter Games for Canada, is projected as an impact player on the level of Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux, a potential superstar in a league starved for attention. As such, his price is undoubtedly high, although it could not be learned immediately what packages the Flyers and Rangers had offered.

It is expected that Lindros will be traded for a combination of established players, draft choices and money.

Neil Smith, the president and general manager of the Rangers, said: "We are still in the running, but, further than that, I can't comment. It's a mandate on this whole procedure. The league is looking into something."

The Nordiques drafted Lindros last summer as the first pick on the first round of the draft, but he refused to report to Quebec for various reasons, including concerns about language and cultural differences.

That led to last week's strenuous attempts by various teams, including the Rangers, to offer enough players to the Nordiques to get Lindros.

The Rangers heightened their efforts on Thursday night, when Smith and Quebec's management embarked on a negotiating session that did not break up until 4:30 Friday morning.

On Friday night, Smith repeated the process all over again.

Among the names that have been rumored as possibly going from New York to Quebec for Lindros are Norris Trophy winner Brian Leetch, goalie John Vanbiesbrouck and Aleksei Kovalev, the left wing from the former Soviet Union who was the Rangers' first-round pick in last year's draft.

Referring to Lindros, Page said: "To me, it shouldn't even be a controversy. I know who should get him."